Always
by Blue Penguin Lightning
Summary: Oneshot. After their breakup, Jade retreats back into herself and from the world. And there's only one person who knows her better than her ex-boyfriend.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.**

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For victoriousjadefan. Everyone, go read Dear Jade. It's awesome.

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_**Always**_

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Cat knocked on Jade's door as she held a bag of groceries (which only contained two objects) and a large cup of Jet Brew coffee in her other hand.

No answer.

Cat rolled her eyes and set the bag of groceries down, but continued to hold onto the cup of coffee. Cat knew well enough that if she set it down, there was a one hundred percent chance that she was going to knock it over.

So with the coffee in one hand, Cat propped herself on top of the large plotted plant and reached for the spare key that was hidden in the abundance of rocks that stood decoratively above the front door's frame. After flipping over no less than seven rocks, Cat found the key to Jade's house, and made her way inside.

The fact of the matter was, Cat knew Jade better than anyone else. And while Jade would never say it, Cat knew she was hurting. So when Jade didn't show up for school and Beck did, Cat knew it was way worse than it looked. That afternoon, she made a quick run to Jet Brew and the grocery store for an emergency intervention.

The house was quiet, much to Cat's surprise. She was sure Jade would be watching _The Scissoring_ on repeat. It was the one movie that Jade never grew tired of. But as Cat approached Jade's room, she was met with more silence.

"Jade?" she tried, knocking on the door.

Jade didn't answer the door and even respond for that matter. But Cat could hear her rustling around inside. And Jade couldn't ignore her forever. Cat wasn't going to let her. She opened the door, only to be greeted with a pair of scissors being thrown at her and into the wall. Even if Jade didn't say anything, Cat had certainly gotten the message that she wanted to be left alone. Too bad that wasn't in Cat's plans.

"You missed," Cat said as she made her way inside and shutting the door behind her. She pulled the pair of scissors from the wall and tossed them down on the bed, completely unfazed by Jade's initial greeting.

"Go away," Jade hoarsely whispered. She had been crying; that much was obvious.

Cat's response was simple: "No."

But Jade didn't want company. She didn't want to be around anyone. She had learned, through a brutal backstabbing, that no one really wanted to hang out with her either.

"Go hang out with your new best friend."

Cat sat down on the bed and handed Jade the large cup of Jet Brew. The dark girl accepted it but didn't drink from it immediately.

"I am hanging out with my best friend. And I brought everything you need to feel better."

And just to prove her point, Cat began to unload the bag, pulling out bowls, spoons, and vanilla ice cream.

"Are you serious?" Jade asked.

"I got it after school," Cat explained. "I was pretty sure you could use it."

"School ended three hours ago."

"I know. I had to make sure my brother didn't have any sort of razor."

"Razor?"

Cat nodded her head, almost too enthusiastically. "Last time I left him alone, he shaved my neighbor's cat. We're afraid he'll do the dog next. I had to make sure there was nothing sharp in the house."

"Can he go shave Beck's hair?" Jade asked. Her voice was emotionless, a testament to how truly hurt she was.

"You don't mean that and you know it. Just give it a week or so and it'll all go back to normal. You'll see."

"Cat, he'll never take me back, okay? He won't. And I don't see how ice cream and coffee is going to make this better."

"I'm not done making the ice cream yet," Cat explained. She pulled out the small container of blackberries and put half of them on Jade's bowl. "Now I'm done."

"I love blackberries," Jade mumbled.

"I know."

As Jade moved a lone blackberry around the bowl of ice cream, tears threatened to leave her eyes. Cat's gesture was sweet, quite literally, but it was thoughtful.

"Beck used to bring me blackberries and mangos," she whispered.

And that was all it took for those tears to fall. She didn't even bother to try to stop them. Had she been anywhere but home or with anyone else but Cat, she would have fought to keep them in. But with Cat, it was different. Cat had seen her at her worst and far beyond that. Cat wouldn't think twice about anything. Cat would just support her and that's what Jade really needed.

Jade sat the bowl of ice cream on her nightstand. She wasn't exactly hungry even though she hadn't eaten all day. But as she set it down, she caught a glimpse of the most perfect picture.

What used to be the most perfect picture. It was her and Beck. Beck had his arms draped over her shoulders and they were smiling. It was taken near the beginning of their relationship.

"No!" she screamed. She grabbed the picture and threw it across room and against the wall, letting it shatter as it fell.

Cat had seen Jade angry before. She had seen Jade upset. But she had never seen Jade so hurt and alone.

"He was supposed to be my friend," she softly sobbed. She had given up on trying to hold herself together anymore. Beck hurt her.

"Jade, you're still my best friend. You know that, right? You'll always be. I mean, who else would know you better than to bring you blackberries, coffee, and vanilla ice cream?"

There was a small part of Jade that desperately wanted to smile at Cat's friendly gesture. But Beck's betrayal ran deep and practically consumed her.

"But you're not Beck," Jade whispered. "You'll never be able to do what he did."

Cat moved closer to until her hand was on top of Jade's. "I know."

But it didn't help to soothe the distraught Jade. She wanted Beck and yet she didn't at the same time after what he did to her. Who does that to someone? After everything they had gone through, how could he have done that?

"I'll always be your friend," Cat whispered. "Always."


End file.
